Lily Prelude

Oriental Lily
Acapulco

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

6:30 AM here on the mountain and grey clouds speed across the horizon. Tiredness apparently prevails here as Karl the Wonder Dog snores loudly from his bed and except for me, there is no activity. Circadian rhythm? Timing is interesting, especially in the fall when darkness will not leave until about now, only to return again by 4:30 PM.

I often have ideas of subjects I want to write about but with too many irons in the fire, I forget more than I should. Top of the list today is writing a letter to IRS to tell then why we are not the business classification their computer thinks we are. There's something about today's world that makes us do a lot of things over. "There's never time to do it right but always time to do it over" was a little saying an employee actually told me one day explaining what I felt was unacceptable performance. I did what I always do and tried to work through the situation but in the end the person's understanding of my work ethic was such that I cut the strings of being nice and hired someone else. Small businesses have little money or time to spare and after satisfactory training, people have to get things right. I do wish more people would get it right the first few times but I guess we have moved into a new age I will always have trouble adjusting to.

On my list of things to share is more comment about lilies. I have written about them in the past and in early summer I warned gardeners about the lily leaf beetle. I want to mention where to plant and not plant lilies and why, but for the time I have this morning, here are just a few pictures of some lilies I have enjoyed in the past. If you visit Vermont Flower Farm I am sorry to say that we no longer grow lilies for sale, only for our enjoyment. The insect world has provided more competition than we can handle. We will not use heavy chemicals for the sake of a few flowers. End of story.

So for this morning, before I head for Newport, Vermont and the Canadian border, here are a few images. Please stand by.

Arena

Bellingham Hybrid

Black Beauty

Empress

Gold Band

Golden Stargazer

Leslie Woodriff

Lorelei

Mona Lisa

Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where two mourning doves compete with seven blue jays for the cracked corn I just dumped on the platform feeder. We have to be careful and only put out what food will be eaten during the day as Mr. Black Bear is here every day, in the adjacent field, eating apples.

George Africa
The Vermont Gardener
Vermont Flower Farm

Snow Buntings and Lily Thoughts

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Another beautiful day in Vermont with bright sun, light wind, and temperatures into the 30s for a change. Now at about 9:30 PM the temperature is dropping and 10.3 dgerees seems a long way from the warmth of mid afternoon. I was up early and on the road towards southern Vermont even before the day sorted out what it would present. As I headed down Route 232, the clouds were stacking high and I wondered if the weather folks had erred. By the time I crested the hill on Interstate 91 where you can look southwest and see Lake Fairlee, it was apparent I was in a new world of sunshine.


On both ends of my trip today I saw flocks of snow buntings along and in the road. Oddly, the weather lady on Channel 3 News featured them tonight too so I guess I wasn't the only one to notice them lately. They are flighty little arctic loving birds that seem to scare easily and as a flock they rise and return to the ground endlessly. By the interstate they seemed to be gathering weed seeds but I can't be sure. In two places close to home this afternoon I saw wild turkeys eating burdock seeds. They can't eat enough of those in my book.

Although the land remains endless in its whiteness right now, I thought of lilies again as I drove south and then north. Lilies have been a flower I have grown since the early 80s. As I drive down Route 5 from Wells River towards White River in the summer, I can see houses with plantings of lilies which I know came from Vermont Flower Farm. In recent years lilies are more readily available in the box stores and of course people access more garden catalogs and magazines now and buy from them. The thing is that Gail and I bought so many different lilies over the years that we were always ahead of the curve and had varieties you just didn't find.

With the white landscape, the colors stick out clearly in my memory but there's always a little worry attached, not knowing how the weather has already influenced the bulbs and how many critters have found them to be the living sugar candy that causes me to come up short on favorites very year. Voles have apparently attended a lily school and have always aced the math finals because they are one animal that only goes for the expensive bulbs. Give them a hundred Asiatic lilies and they'll go for that one Smokey Mountain that was just looking really good.

If you have lily thoughts like I have lately, take a look at the North American Lily Society site or the Pacific Northwest Lily Society site. These are excellent places of learn a great deal about lilies and can help track down sources. The PNWLS site has a picture of the Conca d'Or I mentioned recently. When you see it, you just might understand why Gail cut one out of the front garden so she didn't have to explain why it wasn't for sale.


Time is moving by tonight like a snow bunting heading back to Canada. I have to get going too.


Writing from the mountain above Peacham Pond where no one hears the temperature drop.

George Africa
http://vermontflowerfarm.com
http://vermontgardens.blogspot.com

Snow on the roof, record in the books

Thursday, February 15, 2007

The Vermont Flower Farm sign is barely visible now but in our hearts, our gardens are always open. One degree below zero tonight but the wind speed brings the temperature to 10 below. It takes only seconds outside with Karl the wonder dog to know that this is not the night to do much sniffing around. This storm's record has been well publicized and the cold wil not leave.

I plowed three times yesterday and got out at 4:30 this morning to do everything again before heading out to work. From the last time I plowed last night until this morning, another foot dropped. The real trouble was the wind which drifted snow five feet high in places along the drive that I had in pretty good shape before going to bed. Tonight after work I got out the snow rake to approach the roof but the wind and blowing snow drove me back inside after less than half an hour. There is 4 feet of snow on the roof and although it's a standing seam metal roof, it's been cold for over a month and the snow has been holding on since a mid-January rain storm. My work is cut out for me over the next couple days. Once I pull the snow off the roof I have to dig out the windows and doors again. Such is winter.


In fall I leave many of the plant stalks standing tall in wait for a blanket of white to accentuate their unseen beauty and interest. The new snow has covered everything now and only a few rudbeckias stand above the drifts on the bank outside my office window. In their absence I try to visualize the beauty of waves of red, purple and maroon bee balm, busy with honey and bumble bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.

I short while back I included a picture of a very tall clump of Empress Orienpet lilies surrounded by monarda. The picture drew a comment on the interest of the combination. Monarda is seen as a rough plant by many but I rate it as a people pleaser because visitors are regularly entertained by the insects and birds which frequent it. It can get out of hand, a trait from it's mint-like origins but its shallow roots make eradication or relocation as easy as bending over and selectively pulling out some extras here and there.

The so-called roughness can easily be tempered by bordering it front and back with larger and taller flowers. Much by accident we have used lilies and daylilies and are pleased with the outcome. The dark reds and maroons of Asiatic lilies such as Black Jack or America work well with the monarda reds and even though the monarda is a continuous flow of color, the size and smoothness of the lily petals catches your eye.

Several years back, lilies known as LA Hybrids were released. These are crosses between the longiflorums of Easter lily fame and Asiatic lilies, the fragrance-free, dependable, inexpensive, quick-to-multiply lily now common in many gardens. The LAs have large flowers, thicker petals, a mild fragrance of sorts, if any fragrance at all. They are strong lilies which can hold up against late July-early August thunderstorms and they work well as standouts within the bee balm.

And as a finishing touch, you can add some Lilium superbum standing in the back and swaying with the wind. These are 7-8-9 foot tall lilies over time and they make great perches for hummingbirds tired from flight and in need of a breather.


The daylily world has some terrific varieties now and I am developing an interest in tall varieties 36" and over. The liliums I have suggested are just that, suggestions to get you thinking about color, height and texture. Daylilies can replace the bulb lilies or other pernenials for that matter. The result will be a mass of color which will offer enjoyment for a long time. On a night like tonight when it's bitter cold and very white outside, I can close my eyes and see the bee balms,see the colors. Think about your gardens....see the colors????


From the mountain above Peacham Pond where the wind pounds the house but can't come in and where this gardener-plowman-snow shoveler-roof cleaner thinks it's time for bed. But not before that last piece of cherry pie and a glass of milk--a homemade Valentines Day gift from my Valentine, Gail.

With garden thoughts in winter,

George Africa
http://vermontflowerfarm.com
http://vermontgardens.blogspot.com